On October 21, 2024, BJTU President YU Zujun met with LU Vice-Chancellor Andy Schofield in the UK. The universities held their 8th Joint Management Committee (JMC) Meeting in a hybrid online-offline format, discussing JMC schedule and member adjustments, a five-year co-strategy plan, cooperation on Ministry of Education evaluations, international student recruitment, faculty training in the UK, and multi-campus collaboration. BJTU also announced the 2024 UK-China TNE Conference, further strengthening their partnership and advancing high-quality UK-China educational cooperation.
At 4:00 PM Beijing time on October 21, 2024, Yu Zujun, President of Beijing Jiaotong University, and Andy Schofield, Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University, held a meeting at Lancaster University in the UK. Following this, the two universities convened the 8th Joint Management Committee meeting. Since their collaboration began in 2016, the joint educational institution "Lancaster University College at Beijing Jiaotong University"has been successfully operating for eight years. During this period, the Joint Management Committee has met at least once annually to ensure the smooth operation and continuous optimization of the cooperative programs.
The meeting was conducted via video link across three venues: the UK, Beijing, and Weihai. President Yu Zujun of Beijing Jiaotong University, Vice-Chancellor Andy Schofield, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Rebecca Lingwood, and Senior Vice-Chancellor Simon Guy of Lancaster University attended the UK venue. Vice President Jing Tao and the Chinese and British deans of Weihai International College attended the Beijing venue, along with leaders from relevant colleges and departments involved in the cooperative education. The meeting was chaired by Vice President Gao Liang.
Members of the UK-China Joint Management Committee engaged in in-depth discussions on several key issues. They reached consensus on topics such as changes to the committee membership and meeting schedules, the joint development of a "Five-Year Development Plan for UK-China Cooperation," collaboration on the evaluation and extension of cooperative education programs, the continued promotion of international student recruitment, training programs for Chinese faculty in the UK, and expanded support for multi-campus online and offline activities for faculty and students.
Additionally, Beijing Jiaotong University announced that it will host the 2024 UK-China Joint Institute Alliance Annual General Meeting and TNE Conference at the Weihai Campus from November 7 to 8, 2024. Established in 2017 with the joint support of the British Council and the China Education Association for International Exchange, the alliance includes all 45 UK-China cooperative educational institutions in China. Its aim is to promote the development and management of high-quality Sino-British cooperative educational institutions.
The successful convening of this UK-China Joint Management Committee meeting further deepened the collaborative relationship between Beijing Jiaotong University and Lancaster University. From policy formulation, educational quality, faculty training, to resource sharing, the meeting laid a solid foundation for future cooperation between the two institutions. Both universities will continue to work closely together to cultivate high-caliber talents with international perspectives, contributing to the educational collaboration between the two countries.
